Halsey considered prostitution as a homeless teen, she says in heartbreaking speech
Halsey has spoken about hard times in her life before, but she revealed over the weekend that things had been so bad at one point in time that she had debated becoming a prostitute.
“When I was living in New York, I was a teenager. My friends were picking out decorations for their dorms, and I was debating on whether or not I should let a stranger inside of me so I could pay for my next meal," the Grammy-nominated artist, now 24, said Saturday at the Ending Youth Homelessness: A Benefit for My Friend's Place gala in Los Angeles. “It wasn't because I did something bad. It wasn't because something was wrong with me, and it wasn't because my parents didn't love me — because they did very much. But a series of unfortunate circumstances led me to be in that position, and it can happen to absolutely anyone.”
Halsey, whose real name is Ashley Frangipane, was kicked out of her house after dropping out of college. As she told Rolling Stone in July 2016, she was essentially homeless, save for a night here and there at her grandmother’s house.
“I remember one time I had $9 in my bank account and bought a four-pack of Red Bull and used it to stay up overnight over the course of two or three days, because it was less dangerous to not sleep than it was to sleep somewhere random and maybe get raped or kidnapped,” she told the magazine.
At the gala, Halsey explained that meeting Capitol Music Group executive Jeremy Vuernick changed everything for her.
“When I met him, I had crazy hair, I had one demo in my pocket and I was carrying a gray duffel bag," Halsey told the crowd. "Sat down in his office, at his cubicle, and he asked me, 'What's in the bag?' I looked him dead in the eyes and I said, 'This is my house.'"
She explained her belief that everyone deserves a shot to escape such a life, whether or not they’re a celebrity.
“I need you guys to realize that and while it's very exciting that I am a record-selling, show-playing pop star, when I tell people that story, they go, 'Oh my gosh, you went from being homeless to being a pop star, that's amazing, we should help these people because we don't know what they could become,’” Halsey said. “Wrong. We shouldn't help we think because there's a chance that they could turn into a celebrity. We shouldn't help because they could really make something of themselves — because they are something right now. I know better than anyone how important having a creative outlet is when you're in a time of need, but this is so much bigger than arts and crafts. This is life or death, and I hope that you take it very, very seriously. I really do.”
Halsey released her debut album in 2015, and her follow up, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, topped the charts in 2017.
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